As a child, being successful in school and building good relationships with others should be the primary objective, not disappointing parents or taking actions that may be regrettable in the future. In Afghanistan, as it has changed from a calm country to being overridden by the harmful Taliban, it has differed a great deal. Still, the high-class citizens have been the last to know, as they have never truly known the real Afghanistan. This is where Amir comes in and tells his story of defining the true homeland he never knew, despite the many years he had spent in the United States trying to keep a haven for himself and his father. Amir tells his story, through thick and thin, and succeeds in his mission to redeem himself from the long-felt …show more content…
Research shows that “...not only do parents' expectations influence students' expectations, but students' expectations can also influence parents' expectations, both of which independently influence and are influenced by students' achievement” (Zhang). Amir now needs to take strong action to atone for his actions. After Baba’s passing, his longtime friend tells Amir about the hard times in Afghanistan and how there is an opportunity for Amir to redeem himself. As Hosseini states, Amir visits Afghanistan and learns that Hassan was his half-brother, Hassan, and his wife, Farzana, died, and Hassan’s son, Sohrab, is now an orphan. Sohrab had been abused and neglected, and when Amir went to capture Sohrab, he saw Assef for the first time in many years. He challenges Assef to a fight, and even after being brutally beaten, Amir remains absolute and Sohrab launches a slingshot which incapacitates Assef and allows for both of their escapes. Here, Amir has demonstrated bravery and courage, which fulfills Baba’s values of standing up against injustice and protecting the vulnerable. It is evident that Amir has recovered his self-worth after all of his father’s torment, and has made up for the lack of intuition that he previously
Amir’s childhood is quite unusual compared to most children in Afghan. Amir’s father, Baba, is a very rich and successful individual in his lifetime. This success allows Amir to live a wealthy lifestyle with access to western commodity as well as servants. In novel, Amir is risen mostly by his servants Hassan and Ali, as well
Happiness is everyone’s main goal in life; however, one cannot define happiness, nor how it is achieved. Happiness plays a pivotal role in the novel “Kite Runner”, written by Khaled Hosseini. The main character, Amir, is on a quest for happiness and strives for it throughout his entire life; however, it is not without struggle and hardship. Amir achieves many accomplishments in this novel which ultimately lead up to him becoming truly happy. One of Amir’s accomplishments that contributed in his quest for happiness is his marriage with his love, Soraya. Another one of Amir’s accomplishments that also contributed in his quest for happiness is the discovery of his father’s flaws. Furthermore, Amir also gained happiness by giving his orphaned nephew,
The history of Afghanistan influences the way Amir’s life develops by affecting his relationship with himself, Baba, and Hassan. People are greatly influenced by the culture that they grow up in, and a community’s culture is shaped by the events that they go through. Throughout the book, the reader can see that Amir struggles with his self-confidence and often-times looks down on himself as a weak and unworthy human being.
“I had one last chance to make a decision. One final opportunity to decide who I was going to be. I could step into that alley, stand up for Hassan – the way he'd stood up for me all those times in the past – and accept whatever would happen to me. Or I could run. In the end, I ran.” In Khaled Hosseini’s, The Kite Runner, Amir, the young protagonist, lives a lavish lifestyle with his father, Baba. Until the Soviets invade and the Taliban become the dominant influence in Afghanistan. Amir’s sumptuous lifestyle comes to an end, and the values of not only his father but also his society begin to impact him and he realizes how much he does not belong in his own culture. Amir is taught the virtues of being a good man, however when the opportunity presents itself to demonstrate his teachings; Amir realizes how different he is from the ways of his father.
Children are products of their parents, leading to most parents having certain expectations of how they want their offspring to grow up to be, but as stated in the novel The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, “Children aren’t coloring books.You don’t get to fill them with your favorite colors” (Hosseini 21). The haunting novel, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, is set in Afghanistan during the rule of the Taliban and describes the torturous journey of a young boy named Amir who’s father, Baba, had unrealistic expectations of him. Baba wanted Amir to be athletic and brave, even though Amir was more interested in standing on the side lines of fights and reading poetry and writing stories. In order to attempt and fill Baba’s expectations, Amir ends up betraying his loyal friend and servant, Hassan, when he was being assaulted by the sadistic neighborhood bully, Assef. This
However there are some characters that become better people and change becoming a better, stronger, more loyal individual in the end. The individual that demonstrates this development within this novel is Amir himself. All of the guilt Amir holds with him as a child allow him to realize his duty to be loyal to his brother Hassan ion the end. An example of this is when Amir goes back to Kabul, Afghanistan to retrieve his nephew Sohrab. Amir says, “I remembered Wahid’s boys and… I realized something. I would not leave Afghanistan without finding Sohrab.’ tell me where he is,’ I said” (Hosseini 255). Here, Amir is at the orphanage waiting to find out where Taliban has taken his nephew. Amir remembers the three young starving sons of Wahid, a man whose home he had been in earlier, and realized that Afghanistan is not a safe place for Sohrab. Amir is finally aware of one thing, Hassan has always been there to protect Amir like a loyal friend and brother would and now Amir knows that it is his turn to return that loyalty to Hassan by protecting Hassan’s flesh and blood. A second example of Amir’s loyalty to Hassan near the ending of the book is during Amir’s confrontation with General Sahib and the dinner table after Sohrab is safe in America with him. Amir proclaims to General Sahib, “…That boy sleeping on the couch
He sees her determination to stand up to her father for what she loves, as she exclaims, “Teaching may not pay much, but it’s what I want to do! It’s what I love” (182). Amir sees a woman stand up to her father, a strange occurrence in Afghan society, which provides him with a model of what it means to stand up for one’s his own beliefs and dreams. Later, after General Taheri calls Sohrab a ‘Hazara Boy’, Amir is able to follow this model, telling the general, “You will never again refer to [Sohrab] as ‘Hazara Boy’ in my presence. He has a name and it’s Sohrab” (361). He stands up to a powerful proponent of the status quo, rejecting the general’s discrimination towards Sohrab and making Amir’s belief that Pashtuns are no better than Hazaras very clear. Soraya also shows Amir courage in her willingness to face her past. Right before they marry, Soraya reveals the secrets of her past to Amir. Amir realizes that he is jealous of her bravery, noting, “I envied her. Her secret was out. Spoken. Dealt with” (165). When he finally tells her of his past, years later, Amir “imagined Soraya had experienced something similar the night of our khastegari, when she’d told [him] about her past,” a sense of relief, a lifting of weight off of his shoulders (325). He learns that, through courage and the ability to face his past , he can start
Amir is Pashtun, this is the more accepted and prosperous ethnicity. Hassan is a Hazara boy, this being an ethnic group that is looked down upon by Pashtun citizens of Kabul. “In the end, I was a Pashtun and he was a Hazara, I was Sunni and he was Shi’a, and nothing was ever going to change that.” (Hosseini 25). Throughout his childhood, Amir is put down regularly by neighborhood kids for befriending Hassan because of his ethnic background. Amir realizes that no matter what he may do, or no matter how Hassan may try to alter the situation, Hassan would always be too different for people to accept. This embarrasses and frustrates Amir. This frustration is one cause for Amir to slowly but surely push Hassan out of his life. Although it is not the most obvious reason, it is an underlying one. This is a mistake on Amir’s part because Hassan does so much for Amir, being the loyal friend that he is, and for Amir to push someone of such good moral and character out of his life, is a tremendous mistake on his behalf. It is quite obvious that Hassan would give his life for Amir, but, because of where Hassan comes from, Amir struggles throughout his childhood, to find a way to accept the friendship Hassan gives
Growing up with the ability to receive an education, Amir felt disconnected in some ways from Hassan. Hassan is a Hazara, so by tradition, he followed in the footsteps of his dad and stayed home all day doing chores and remaining servant like. The literacy rate, in Afghanistan, is only 17%, according to the UNESCO Office in Kabul, and while Amir is a part of that, it makes him feel guilty in a lot of ways, “Words were secret doorways and I held all the keys”(30). In the beginning Amir uses his literacy to assert dominance over Hassan, but as time progresses, and disturbing events take place, Amir’s guilt sets in and he becomes less and less dominant. The quotation above suggests that Amir has all the resources and can choose when and when not to share them with Hassan. While the literacy component is one factor that divides the two half-brothers, it also brings them
Growing up in Afghanistan, Amir is blessed with the fruits of luxury and the friendship of Hassan. Baba who is Amir’s father is an incredibly wealthy man but seems to admire Hassan for his courage and “manliness”, a trait that lacks in Amir’s character. Reasons for Amir’s cowardice was the fact he was protected in a cocoon of safety that was created by Hassan and his father Baba. Amir Plagued by cowardice, starving for his
Amir was tired of lying to those close to him, he only wanted the affection of his father and Hassan made that possible for him by running that one blue kite. As time went on, the guilt loomed in the shadows and Amir had enough, after his birthday he made one final act of selfishness, “I lifted Hassan’s mattress and planted my new watch and a handful of Afghani bills under it.” (Hosseini 104). It took Amir twenty-six years to start standing up for himself and his first act of loyalty was presented to his nephew, “for you a thousand times over.” (Hosseini 371).
War establishes many controversial issues and problems within society and can often expose an individual to many economic and sociopolitical hardships; thus creating an altercation in the way they view life. Amir, from the novel The Kite Runner and the novel’s author Khaled Hosseini, both saw the harsh treatment toward the people of Afghanistan through a series of wars, invasions, and the active power of a Pashtun movement known as the Taliban. Amir, much like Hosseini, lived a luxurious and wealthy life in Kabul. He is well educated and immerses himself in reading and writing. After transitioning from a life in Afghanistan to a life in the United States, both Hosseini and Amir faced obstacles in order to assimilate to American society. In The Kite Runner, written by Khaled Hosseini, the protagonist Amir parallels the experiences and hardships that Hosseini endured in his own lifetime.
Even when Amir was nasty and cruel to him, he had always been a faithful, kind soul. He never doubted that Amir was his friend and that he held a special place in his heart. When Hassan got raped, Amir did not help Hassan. There were ultimately two options: step up to the bullies and rescue Hassan, or run away. Even after hearing Assef say how Amir would never do the same for him, about how he would never stand up for him, he still chose to run away and pretend like he did not just witnessed what had happend. There is also scene where Amir is feeling guilty and both the boys are around a pomegranate tree. Amir just starts pelting Hassan with pomegranates and threatens to him to throw one back. He exclaims, “You’re a coward,” (...). And what does Hassan do? He picks up a pomegranate, but instead of hurling it in Amir’s direction, he smashes it on himself and says, “are you satisfied?” (....). There is this constant pressure on Hassan and Amir’s relationship. The Afghan society would not approve of such “friendship.” Both of the boys were good, but Amir was so young when he made the mistakes that it made the reader question whether there was a way for Amir to be morally good again.
When Amir feels unloved by Baba, his father, it will lead Amir to betray his friend and brother Hassan, by leaving him to be raped in an alley to redeem Baba’s love. Amir even as a young boy knew of his feelings of detachment from Baba, and always strived to please Baba. Amir was crazed with the idea of pleasing Baba to achieve his love. In order to achieve this “love”, Amir will betray Hassan. Hassan is also the son of Baba, but that is unknown to both Amir and Hassan, which makes it easier for Amir to betray him. Hassan is also a Hazara which is lower class in Afghanistan, who typically serves the upper class. Amir and Hassan do a lot of stuff together though, such as the Kite Fighting competition. When Amir wins the competition, he sees
In Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, the author follows the development of protagonist Amir through a life filled with sorrow, regret, and violence. Amir encounters numerous obstacles on his path to adulthood, facing a new test at every twist and turn. Amir embarks on the long journey known as life as a cowardly, weak young man with a twisted set of ideals, slowly but surely evolving into a man worthy of the name. Amir is one of the lucky few who can go through such a shattered life and come out the other side a better man, a man who stands up for himself and those who cannot, willing to put his life on the line for the people he loves.